Burnham & District Table Tennis League

12/10/2026

Week 4 has seen considerable movement in all 3 divisions this week, as three quarters of teams move either up or down the table.
In Division 1, Maldon A finally won not only their first game of the season, but their first match, too, with a well-deserved 8-2 victory over Stow Maries A. Peter Chastin managed to salvage something from the night, defending well against Dawn Baldry and coming back from 5-1 in the fifth set against Hamish Innes, but it was Lloyd Bennet Smith who shone through with an impressive attacking and defensive display against all three opponents and his first Player of the Match this season.
Fambridge go top of the table after beating Woodham A 9-1, leaving Cold Norton A in second place with a game in hand. The night got off to a rocky start for Fambridge, as John Poysden lost his first game of the season to the phenomenal Daniel Zeffie, who came back from 1-2 behind to win in five. Despite taking both Kevin Caldon and Keith Adams all the way, he couldn't muster another win, and Fambridge continue on towards a title run.
Mid-table Mapledene A and Cold Norton B exchanged blows, with Dan Patynski breaking the deadlock after winning his three in style and winning the doubles alongside Les Hoey. Patynski had four deuce games and won them all, taking chances and hitting past his opponents at the decisive moments of the game.
Woodham B will be pleased to see themselves in third place after a 7-3 win against Blackwater A currently, as Sanjay Saptarshi once again takes a hat trick and Player of the Match. Noah Sage managed to avoid the whitewash though, taking another two scalps in a tough division and showing improvement every week.

In Division 2, Woodham C remain undefeated, this week beating Blackwater 7-3. It was a long night for Peter Davenport, who scraped past Alan Dadswell deuce in the fifth, paired up with Gary Smith for another five-setter in the doubles, before losing a grinding final game in five sets against a solid David Penrose. Scott Perry was the man of the hour though, with his first hat trick of the season, and shows why Woodham deserve to be pushing for promotion.
Blackwater B faced off against clubmates Blackwater C, and the result went the way you'd expect, with B beating C 8-2. Alan Scammel took excellents wins against Peter Mortensen and Roger Slade, but was unable to beat Louis Gunn in an incredibly tight and tactical five set thriller. Louis' loop finally managed to come together though, and came back from 2-1 down to take their second point of the night. Denis Crapnell took no prisoners, but did take Player of the Match, with clinical finishing and a good control of the table.
Mapledene C have now drawn three matches from four, but this has been enough to put them in second place behind Woodham C. This week it was another 5-5, this time against Cold Norton C. Andy Seaman took the Player of the Match, after a thoroughly deserved win against Tim Cramphorn in the final game of the night which forced the draw. Maldon B narrowly won out against 6-4 against Stow B, and in similar fashion to Mapledene, it was Player of the Match Steve Aspland who won the final game against Peter Hance in four close sets.

In Division 3, Woodham D won their first game of the season 8-2 against St. Lawrence A. Simon Thomas and Val Board both took three games each (Simon taking POM), but the story of the night goes to Diane King, who beat Mick Robinson for the very first time, after having lost to him for over forty years! Congratulations Diane on your long-awaited victory.
There was nothing between Cold Norton E and Blackwater E on Wednesday, finishing as they did 5-5. There was nothing between them across the board, having seven deuce games across the evening and I suspect that the return game will result in a different outcome but the same result. David Benstead took the glory that night though, and scraped three wins and claimed Player of the Match.
Maldon D beat Maldon E 7-3, and Luca Reidling was the undefeated champion of Maldon, for one night at least. John Leavett did well to beat Tim Huxtable in the final game of the night, which was Tim's first defeat this season.

Thanks for reading, and may the nets and edges treat you kindly.

Peter Chastin, Junior Press Officer (in training)

04/10/2026

QUIZ NIGHT
West Maldon Community Centre
Saturday 10th October 7.15pm £5 per person max 8 per team Everyone Welcome

04/10/2026

Week 3 has been action-packed with lots of tight games, but very much the same flavour as previous weeks. Division 1 has already split itself into "top", "middle" and "bottom", but Divisions 2 and 3 are still very much up in the air, with the first inklings starting to come through as to who might be holding the trophy in 7 months time.

In Division 1, Cold Norton A and Fambridge both remain unbeaten, having lost just two games each from three matches. Cold Norton A secured a magnificent 10-0 win over a very capable Mapledene A - a result that may even decide the league come May. Duncan Taylor took Player of the Match, aided by long term teammate (and regular Vets Singles rival) Kevin Read and Sam Lowman, who has now gone nine games unbeaten.
Cold Norton B followed in the footsteps of their A team, winning against Maldon A 10-0. David Richardson hit comfortably through all opposition, and whilst they still won all three games, they were at least slowed down slightly by Lloyd Bennett-Smith, who is still looking for his first win of the season, but is creeping closer and closer and I'm should that his first scalp is not too far away (I'm hoping that it won't be mine!)
Fambridge are also in fine form still, beating Mapledene B 8-2. John Poysden sits alongside Sam at the top of the individual averages, so when the two teams meet there may be more than just the league position at stake. Mark Stones seemed to have a near perfect night, not losing a set all evening - including the doubles.
Woodham A took their second win of the season, and currently sit in third place after beating Blackwater A with a score of 2-8 to Woodham. Dan Young and Young Dan Piggott both won three games each, but Chris Hancox succumbed to both youth and experience, losing in three short games to Noah Sage and five long games to Neil Freeman - the last of which was won 20-18. Noah and Neil teamed up against the Dangerous Dans, but they were simply too strong.
The final match in the division was won 9-1 by Woodham B against Stow A. Having drawn 5-5 against Woodham A, they were hoping for more than a single point, courtesy of Adi Kamma who beat Graham Briggs in straight sets, but it wasn't meant to be. Sanjay Saptarshi continued his top form, despites Adi's best efforts in a five-set thriller, and Peter Harverson used his excellent footwork to pick up forehand winners from positions that defy the laws of physics.

In Division 2, Woodham C the only team to have won all three games, and are starting to pull away from an otherwise very tight pack. This week they edged past Blackwater B, winning 6-4 thanks to three wins from Chris Hancox. Chris has been playing well in Division 1, so the strength of this team might diminish if he continues to play up and results go his way.
Mapledene C played Stow Maries B to a draw, with Dave Reynolds taking Player of the Match after just pipping Dave Moles to the post, winning the deciding set 11-8 after giving away a two set lead. Sue Body, the reigning Ladies Singles Champion, won her first singles against Peter Hance and the doubles alongside Dave Reynolds, and the night ended in yet another draw 5-5 for the second division.
Blackwater C did just enough to take the evening, beating Maldon C 6-4 in what was an incredibly tense match. Neil Thompson and Chris Ravenhill set the tone for the evening, with Chris winning 11-13, 12-10, 12-10, 10-12, 4-11. By the fifth set, stamina played the biggest part in this war of attrition, and Chris managed to outlast his opponent. Despite going 0-3 down after the first three games, Louis Gunn turned the tide and the time had the last laugh against an undoubtedly tired Chris Ravenhill, who must've been feeling exhausted by this point. Blackwater C won the next three games on the bounce, and ultimately triumphed with Peter Mortensen (POM) and Neil Thompson winning two each.

In Division 3, Maldon D have gone top of the table with one game in hand. This week they made short work of St Lawrence A, winning 10-0, with Keith Thompson winning three in straight sets and Luca Reidling and Shirley Caroll picking up maximum points too.
Woodham D welcomed Cold Norton E to Champions Manor Hall, and despite Cold Norton winning 7-3, this could have been a very different scoreline on a different night. Three singles and the doubles were decided in the fifth set, and Cold Norton prevailed in all four. Val Board was especially unlucky, losing 9-11 in the fifth to both Dave Oxley-Goody and Roy Gandy, as well as 9-11 in the doubles.
Roy, Dave and Chris Rollison all walked away with a brace and team bragging rights, but it was Simon Thomas who took Player of the Match, winning all three games.

As a reminder, BTTL are hosting a Quiz on Saturday 10th October at West Maldon Community Centre (where Blackwater play). Doors open at 7pm, start time 7:15pm. Teams of up to 8, £5 per player. BYOB etc.
All are welcome and there is only one table tennis question in the quiz, if you're a lover of knowledge and nibbles please come along.

Peter Chastin, Junior Press Officer (in training)

03/10/2026

In Division 1, Cold Norton A and Fambridge will once again be tussling for top spot, with Mapledene A and B offering the potential to rival them, although with a wide range of players in the club there's no telling how they'll fare this season. Fambridge dominated against recently promoted Blackwater A, winning 10-0 in straight sets, and Cold Norton A responded in kind against last year's Division 2 Champions Maldon A, also winning the night 10-0, although not quite so emphatically. Lloyd Bennett-Smith started the night strong, and had a 2-1 lead over Eric Green, but lost in five. Ian Wall earned the Player of the Match award, playing with ruthless efficiency and only losing one set to Hammish Innes all night.

Woodham A and Stow Maries A ground to a draw, with Dan Piggott winning all three, including an impressive straight-set victory over Stow's top player Gary Brignall. The match looked to be going Stow's way in the tenth game, with Richard Storey leading 2-1 against Chris Hancox, but Chris dug deep and managed to turn the tide, hitting the mark with his magnificent forehand and ending the night 5-5.

At the other end of the hall, Woodham B played against Cold Norton B, and Sanjay Saptarshi finally got his hat trick this week. Kim Shead was unlucky to walk away with only a single win this week, losing out to both Sanjay and Graham Briggs in five sets. Graham won deuce in the fifth in game nine, and Harry Sawford hit through Tim Cramphorn in the final game of the night for a well deserved win of 6 games to 4.
In the match between Mapledene A and B, Liam Squirrel was the difference-maker, outplaying his opponents, walking away with man of the match and a deserved win for the Mapledene A with a final score of 6-4. A new season record has been set by Les Hoey and Anthon Singh for the longest set - Les won the first game 18-20 and then went on to win the game in four.

In Division 2, Woodham C had a good result against Maldon C, winning 9-1 and putting some light between them and the rest of the pack (for now!). Scott Perry took two games, losing out in a tightly-fought contest with Dawn Baldry who was hitting well, and won in three straight sets, 13-11, 11-6, 12-10. Chris Hancox and Graham Briggs once again stepped up to the table, having a slightly easier night in Division 2 and both walking away with three wins each.

Cold Norton D were the victors against Blackwater C, winning 7-3, although based on the scores I think it would've been easier to flip a coin rather than play the match - there were nine sets that went to deuce and 5 games that were won 3-2. Rob Harris won all three fairly convincingly, dropping only a single set to Roger Slade all night, and paired with Stephen Maltby in the doubles to win once again.

Blackwater B drew 5-5 against Maldon B, with Denis Crapnell earning Player of the Match, his most significant win being against Colin Barrell, coming from 2-1 down and winning deuce in the fifth. This no doubt spurred Colin on, and he and Steve Aspland combined to take the doubles in three straight sets.

Division 3 have had a quiet week - with only one scheduled game, between Blackwater F and Woodham D, ending with a 9-1 victory for Blackwater over a two-person Woodham. Val Board saved Woodham from a whitewash, beating Kath Little in four sets, but Peter Hughes and De Jian D**g proved too quick on the night and through consistent play and pressure did enough to take both their games.

And there we have it - week 2 finished and still all to play for. Thanks for reading, and good luck in your next game (yes, YOU! I'm talking to YOU!)

29/09/2026

Rob Sach RIP

It is with heavy hearts that we have to annonce the passing of Rob Sach from the Maldon Table Tennis Club. Rob died peacefully in his sleep on 15 September at the age of 92.

Rob played table tennis in the Burnham League until the age of 89. Anyone that played against him or with him knew he was always smiling and was such a happy person to be around, and of course that he just loved the game.

He will be deeply missed by everyone that had the pleasure of knowing him.

On behalf of the Burnham League we offer our sincere condolences to Ella and all of Rob’s family, colleagues and friends.

His funeral will be held at the Maldon Crematorium on 30 October at 1430. All are welcome to attend.

21/09/2026

Drubbings in Division 1, Draws in Division 2, and all to play for in Division 3

The new season is up and running, and whilst many things will be familiar to you - lucky shots, questionable serves and always getting beaten by that one bogey player (or more), the only real constant is change. It's still all to play for after the first of I'm sure many exciting weeks to come...

In Division 1, Woodham and Cold Norton went head to head...twice! The A teams played the B teams, and both ended in similar fashion.
Cold Norton A have started in fine form, as you might expect from last years' champions. Sam Lowman won all three games and teammates Kevin Read and Eric Green bested two of their opponents but succumbed to Sanjay Sapatarshi. (For the keen-eyed amongst you, you might've noticed that "Cold Norton A" are now "Cold Norton B", and vice versa, although either way you'll be facing strong competition if your team heads to The Barn.)
In the reverse match, it was Woodham A who dominated, and whilst the scoreline read 2-2 after the first four games, Woodham took the remaining 6 games without reply. Gary Young took Player of the Match and all three scalps, ably assisted by Antonio Bonnici with two wins and another two from Sanjay, who felt the need to play against Cold Norton for the second time this week.
Mapledene B fielded a strong opening lineup against Blackwater A, and looked set for a whitewash had it not been for the herculean efforts of Denis Balic beating Glenn Johnson in 5 sets (and two deuce games), so had to settle for 9-1 instead.
Stow Maries A played Fambridge this week, and the scoreline won't come as a shock to many of you. Keith Adams, Mark Stones and John Poysden all won their singles, and Mark and Keith combined their skills in the doubles to gain a full sweep of points, but an honourable mention does go out to Adi Kamma for taking a set off John, by swinging for the rafters and hitting everything in sight. This puts Fambridge at the top of the table as it stands, a spot they are very much familiar with, but they might not wish to get too comfortable there.
Newly promoted Maldon A met stiff competition from Mapledene A in their opening fixture, who overpowered Maldon with their attacking play and wide range of shots. Liam Squirrel did what he does best - win with ruthless efficiency - and was Player of the Match for what will likely be the first of many. Steve Muth also opens the season with a hattrick, as does Dan Patynski, although Colin Napper took him to five sets in his opening game through a range of clever shots, tricky serves and sheer force of will. Nevertheless, 10-0 was the end result and as Maldon A knows only too well, gap between Divisions 1 and 2 is not insignificant.
It's difficult to glean too much from the opening week, but suffice to say that some teams are going to struggle whilst others show their class, and the bottom of the table might be just as interesting as the top.

In Division 2, this season could well be one of the closest we've seen in quite some time, with two of the five matches this week ending in draws, and plenty of five-setters across the board. Only two of the thirty players managed to win all three games this week, so congratulations to Marty Englander and Tony Ayliffe for starting so well.
Stow B won their opener against Blackwater 7-3, through a team effort of two wins apiece for Dave Marsh, Dave Moles and Chris Buer. Blackwater caught Stow cold in the first two games, with Gary Smith and Peter Davenport starting strong, but Stow soon got into their stride. We should expect a good season from them, although Nick Reece-Ford will be unavailable for the first half of the season at least, and Adi Kamma will be subbing in to help out where needed.
Woodham C joins Stow at the top of the table in similar fashion - Chris Hancox, Scott Perry and Tim Pulham each won two and the doubles made seven points from their first game. Nine of the ten games went to a fourth set at least, so on a different night it may well have gone the other way.
Mapledene C and Blackwater B both seemed equally matched, ending the night with a 5-5 draw. Player of the match Tony Ayliffe did much of the heavy lifting, winning all three and combining with Dennis Squirrel in the doubles, with Bill Smith beating Denis Crapnell in three sets - although their last set ended 17-15, so it probably felt more like five!
Maldon B and C team were equally evenly-matched, with five of the ten games going to the deciding set, and the final result ending in a draw. Marty Englander was the standout player, although both Steve Aspland and Colin Barrell were only narrowly defeated in deuce-sets and I'm sure will be baying for blood on the returning leg.
Blackwater C records their first win over Cold Norton C, with Roger Slade taking Player of the Match, despite losing his first game to Dick Wyman. Tony Forster seems to have angered the table tennis gods, having come up just short against both Neil Thompson and Roger, having lost by the thinnest of margins to both in the fifth.
From both an individual and team perspective, this is likely the division that will be the one with the most changes in leader, the biggest upsets, and the tightest of competitions.

In Division 3, there were 3 matches this week, and only one gave any indication as to what might happen by the end of the season.
Blackwater E played Maldon E, and were unable to seperate themselves from each other, ending the night as they did at 5-5. Patrick Coyne seemed to get his money's worth, with two of his games finishing deuce in the fifth, first beating David Sage but then losing to an attacking Jackie Treacy, who was on-form and landing her forehands nicely. John Leavett won all three singles and again in the doubles alongside Patrick, but lost at least one set in each, so whether or not his 100% record will last long remains to be seen.
St. Lawrence A lost at home to Cold Norton E, who welcomed John Knights into the fold after a couple of seasons off. It's lovely to see you back, John. Captain Roy Gandy led from the front, and didn't drop a set all night, and John Knights and Chris Rolison took the other three points between them, and with that the match went to the visitors 6-4.
Maldon D vs Blackwater F produced some excellent games, and despite Tim Huxtable's well-deserved top billing with three impressive wins, my personal pick would've gone to Shirley Carroll, who beat David Gardner in straight sets, and beat Andrew Simmonds and Peter Hughes in five. Two decisive deuce sets against Andrew, and coming back from 2-1 down against Peter is a great way to start the season, Peter did manage to grab a point for his team though, against the mighty Keith Thompson, denying him his third win of the night. This puts Maldon at the top of the table with a 9-1 victory, and Blackwater at the bottom for now, but anything can and invariably does happen on both sides of the net, and I wouldn't count anyone out just yet.
With only 7 teams in the third division, each team will play each other 3 times instead of 2, and so this might make it easier to predict the winners earlier on. Regardless of the eventual victors, let's all hope for a great season, and I wish you all the best of luck and may the ball bounce forever in your favour.

Many thanks,
Peter Chastin, Junior Press Officer (in training)

17/09/2026

Reminder Danbury TC Junior Coaching starts back this coming Monday - if youre not signed up yet but fancy giving it a go pls just drop a line to Coach Louis 07858 992715

13/09/2026

Good Luck to everyone for opening day of the season tomorrow.

reminder to get your Quiz Nite teams into Dawn asap.

[email protected]

01/09/2026

Essex Table Tennis Newsletter - Scimitar 3 - latest edition is out now. Enjoy

https://burnham.ttleagues.com/article/scimitarnewsletterissue6

27/08/2026

Call for all quizzers to get there table requests into Dawn asap.

For those who have already confirmed a table pls can you reconfirm number of tables required with Dawn.

Burnham Quiz Nite 2026

Saturday 10th Oct 2026
@ West Maldon Community Centre (where Blackwater play!)
7pm start - teams of up to 8, £5 entry per player

Bring your own drinks and nibbles

RSVP to Dawn at [email protected]

As Captains cajole their players into the early rounds of the league this year now is also the right time to get your quiz teams sorted and sent into Dawn

Burnham Quiz Nite 2026

Saturday 10th Oct 2026
@ West Maldon Community Centre (where Blackwater play!)
7pm start - teams of up to 8, £5 entry per player

Bring your own drinks and nibbles

RSVP to Dawn